One of these days I am going to have to get a car, but I’ll hold out for as long as I can. I came to East Africa in part seeking a simpler lifestyle. I enjoy chatting with people around me and getting to know the culture in-depth. I watch in fascination as the preachers and hawkers board at one town, shout and sell to their captive audience and disembark at the next. Getting across the country is cheap and my clients appreciate the transit fees on the final invoice. But bumping around on buses is starting to wear on me. Above, a busy Kampala street as seen from the window of the Teso Coach to Soroti.
The last month has seen me traveling from the shores of Lake Victoria in Tanzania to the remote and mountainous Uganda-Sudan border and various places in between, much of the way spent with my camera hanging out the window. Above, pedestrians on the streets of Lira, Uganda. Below, after months of arduous journey, I reach the source of the Nile.
Toward the end of June I was in Bukoba, Tanzania, on the western (and least accessible) side of Lake Victoria. There I did photo and video work for Computers 4 Africa. C4A takes second-hand PCs and ships them to a school, hospital or institution in Africa that can make use of the machine you thought was out of date. It’s an excellent concept and needs to implemented en masse in order to both create jobs and improve productivity on the continent. Above and below, students from Rugambwa Girls’ Secondary School are recipients of computers from C4A.
Take a moment to experience the hub-bub of the bus park in Mbale, eastern Uganda:
Let’s hope no one’s waiting on this bus for their next paycheck.
Above, open-air passenger lorry in Karamoja. Below, motorcycle taxis, or boda bodas, in Lira.
In Uganda the landscape changes quickly from plains to mountains to bustling towns within a span of a few dozen kilometers. For the northern leg to Kidepo National Park I had to hire a 4 wheel drive, as roads tend to resemble craters more than anything else.
I know I’m not breaking any new ground in wildlife photography, but I am starting to pay more attention to the fauna around me. Stock photo sales, of course, contribute to my motivation. Above, Vervet monkeys in Entebbe, Uganda.
It’s important to travel with in convoy or with armed escort in the Karamoja region of NE Uganda. Though bands of armed cattle raiders are more under control than in the past, they’re still operating. Karamoja is the least developed area of Uganda, and one which I plan on exploring more thoroughly in the future.
Weighing up to 900kg (2000 pounds), the Cape Buffalo is reported to kill the most people in Africa each year, though the hippopotamus is a close rival for this accolade. They travel in massive herds and are able to defend themselves against predator attacks, sometimes even killing lions. On the other hand, giraffes eat leaves and really don’t have to worry about much.
Lastly, a rain storm looms on the horizon. I was caught in this same deluge five minutes later- lucky for that waterproof camera bag.